[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 87 (Thursday, June 10, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4843-S4844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to address comments made on 
the floor of the U.S. Senate on June 8, 2010. The senior Senator from 
Montana accused me of slandering an individual. That individual is 
President Obama's nominee to be the next Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services, CMS, Administrator, Dr. Donald Berwick.
  The Senator from Montana is incorrect. I want the record to 
accurately reflect the foundation on which I made my comments on the 
floor. I told the Senate that the nominee to be the next CMS 
Administrator ``loves the British health care system and says we are 
going to need to ration care. The new Director of Medicare is planning 
to ration care.''
  I based my comments solely on historic statements made and articles 
written by the nominee about the British health care system and 
rationing care. These statements include:
  1. ``The decision is not whether or not we will ration care--the 
decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open.'' You can find 
this statement in: ``Rethinking Comparative Effectiveness Research,'' 
An Interview with Dr. Donald Berwick, Biotechnology Healthcare, June 
2009.
  2. ``I fell in love with the NHS to an American observer, the NHS . . 
. is

[[Page S4844]]

such a seductress.'' You can find this statement in: ``Celebrating 
Quality 1998-2008'' by Donald Berwick, M.D., speech at London Science 
Museum, September 30, 2008.
  3. ``The NHS is not just a national treasure; it is a global 
treasure. As unabashed fans, we urge a dialogue on possible forms of 
stabilization to better provide the NHS with the time, space, and 
constancy of purpose to realize its enormous promise.'' You can find 
this statement in: ``Steadying the NHS'' by Donald Berwick, M.D. and 
Sheila Leatherman, BMJ, July 29, 2006, p. 255.
  4. ``Cynics beware: I am romantic about the National Health Service; 
I love it. All I need to do to rediscover the romance is to look at 
health care in my own country.'' You can find this statement in: ``A 
Transatlantic Review of the NHS at 60'' by Donald Berwick, M.D., BMJ, 
July 26, 2008, p. 213.
  5. ``Here [in Britain], you choose the harder path. You plan the 
supply; you aim a bit low; you prefer slightly too little of a 
technology or a service to too much; then you search for care 
bottlenecks and try to relieve them.'' You can find this statement in: 
``A Transatlantic Review of the NHS at 60'' by Donald Berwick, M.D., 
BMJ, July 26, 2008, p. 213.

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